KIEV, June 4. /TASS/. International observers monitoring the ceasefire in Ukraine reported on Thursday that the situation around the town of Maryinka, west of Donetsk, had stabilised towards Wednesday evening.

Speaking at a news briefing in Kiev, Michael Bociurkiw, a spokesman for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring mission, said that calm around the town, where fighting erupted on Wednesday morning, had been restored by early evening.

He said OSCE observers continued to monitor developments around Donetsk airport and the settlement of Shirokino, where continuous ceasefire violations had been observed. He noted, however, that the mission did not visit the area for security reasons.

The battle between Ukrainian government forces and people’s militias surged on Wednesday in Maryinka, killing at least 15 people.

Eduard Basurin, a Defence Ministry spokesman for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, described the attack as "a large-scale provocation by Ukrainian troops" aimed at diverting attention from preparations for a larger offensive against the neighbouring self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic.